The Wealth of Nations.

Hastings Standard, Issue 105, 27 August 1896, Page 3

The Wealth of Nations.

" Which is the wealthiest of nations ?" is a subject which has been under discussion in one of the English magazine?. The nsserfcion is boldly made that the wealth of the American people to-day surpasses that of any other nation past or present. To prove it the bank book of Brother Jonathan is given as evidence, and this shows a fortune of something like £13,820,000,000, as revealed by the last census. This is about 35 per cent more than the wealth of Great Britain. But America is not so well on as she seems. Her fortune is large, but so is her family ; and if we take the average of wealth to population in various countries, America has to take third place. Great Britain is easily first, France comes next, the United States is third, and then follow Holland, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Italy, and Austria. In comparison with population the wealth of the United States is therefore by no means wonderful; but we must remember that 94 per cent, of that wealth has been created and accumulated in the last half century. In one generation—that is, in the period of thirty years between 1860 and 1890—America added to her wealth no less than forty-nine milliards of dollars, or one milliard more than the total wealth of Great Britain. It is claimed that America is making greater accumulations of wealth during the present decade than England, statisticians estimating the ordinary accumulation of the United Kingdom to be £5, whereas the American average is £8 per head. Still there are great stores of wealth in Great Britain. This is shown by statistics recently compiled for the Pall Mall Gazette giving the capital investments for the first half of the present year, which amounted to more than £81,150,000.. Of this amount cycling is responsible for close upon £11,000,000, and breweries and distilleries for- another £9,250,000. Foreign Government loans constitute the largest item (£12,000,000), Western Australian mining companies present the respectable figure of nearly £6,080,000 sterling, and British railways, owing to some big issues by the great lines, show a similar figure. The total for the half-year surpasses by a long way any recent corresponding total. In the first half of last year the capital applications amounted to only fifty-two million sterling, in the first half of 1894 to only thirty-one million, and in the first half of 1898 to only twenty-six million.